Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-01-27
Two Men Instantly Killed, and Two Others
wOunded-Ths Mil Partially Wrecked
Desails Of the Accident

anee, and fronts towards the south. Going
down Ninth street towards the river, the
visitor first comes to the cOmpany's office,
on the right hand or north side of the
street; then, crossing n narrow alley.
comes the finishing room; then the
paper-making machinery; then the
engine room, separated from
the machinery by a heavy brick
wall, and lastly, right upon the river bank,
being only separated from the steep de-
scent to the water by two huge water
tanks, stand the boiler house. The build
ing is substantially built brick. Between
the engine and boiler rooms stands the
stack, mammoth brick affair, about eight
or nine feet square ut the base and sixty or
seventy feet high. This stack was badly
split by natural gas explosion two years
ago, but passed uniniured through yester-
days ordeal.
The three boilers, forty-two inches in
diameter by twenty-five feet long, faced to
the south, at right angles with Ninth
street. They have been in use eighteen
years, and eighty-fve pounds Of steam was
usually carried by the engineer. Coal
WAS burned as fuel during the day and
natural gas at night The engineer in charge
of the machinery WAS John Nelson.
About halEpast two o'clock yesterday
Thomas Nelson, q nephew of the engineer,
went to the paper mill for Il tub of hot
water, and after filling the vessel went in
to the engine room to talk to his uncle
James Parish was already there, sitting
between the boilers and the engine room
wall, and close to the base of
the smOkestack. in order 10
keep warm. The two Nelson's
talked for few moments, and then separa-
ted, John, the engineer, going through the
boiler room toward door fronting the
river and leading to the water tanks, while
Thomas went tn the street door and stood
there. James Parish still sat by the boil
ers, and outside, on the river bank, Smith
Horner, young man, was standing look
ing down the river With things in this
position, at twenty minutes or a quarter to
three the explosion occurred.
Engineer Nelson was hurled through the
air at u height of twenty or twenty-five
feet, and fell on the river bank on the
south side of Ninth street, a hundred feet
away. 4 brick, fragment of the boilers,
or n beam struck him in the small of the
back and came out high up on his breast,
forcing out at the CHASTITY wound his internal
organs Death WAS instantaneous.
Thomas Nelson was thrown from the
doorway into the street, distance OF
twenty-five feet Here he was buried by
bricks and timber, and WAS instantly
killed
James Parrish was carried by the force
of the explosion through the debris of what
had been the front wall of the building,
and fell in the street among the ruins.
He WAS deluged with hot water and steam,
and badly bruised by flying missiles, but
wonderful to relate, escaped with his life.
lie was taken to his home rs soon ~ posi-
bic, and will probably recover.
Smith HOrner, the young man who was
outside the building, was blown into the
river, and had to swim ashore. He es-
capped with a broken rib and thorough
drenching, and will be all right in short
time
Inside the mill, VIM. Howard was stand
ing ut the rag machine when the crash
came The solid brick wall which had
separated him from the engine room was
scattered to the four winds, and Howard
was Knocked down, but escaped without
injury.
The boilers were very badly wrecked,
and two of them were carried long dis
tanceS The eastern one, next the engine
room, was carried upward and backward,
demOlishing the northern wall of the
boiler room in it's flight, and buryinG itself
in the straw stacks, fifty yards north OF
the mill. Ii carried with it quantity OF
live Goals from the furnace, and in mo.
ment there was u lively fire raging amid
the straw.
The centre boiler was shot into the air,
just missing the smoke stack, and went in a
SOutheaSterly direction, end over end,
twenty or thirty feet from the ground. A
hundred yards from the scene OF the eXplO-
sion it struck and cut of tree six inches
in diameter, which broke the force OF its
flight, and one end of the huge missile
struck the ground in the rear of Thomas
Lytle's lot, where it plowed hole five feet
in diameter and three feet deep, while the
other end swinging over, demolished the
porch Of the residence, and then the boiler,
rolling over and over, came to halt Just
at the corner of Lytle's house. The heavy
head of the boiler kept right on, however,
and struck the side OF the old Acme works,
where it left its print three inches deep in
the brick wall, and then fell into the alley.
The third boiler, which stood next To
the river, merely rolled out of its setting
down toward the water tanks, where it
lay, half imbedded in rubbish, with u
great rent in one side, attesting the force
of the explosion.
The shock of the explosion ratified the
windows and doors of half the houses in
the town, and in few moments after the
report had died away the streets were
filled with people hurrying toward the
mill. The vicinity was soon swarmiDg
with humanity, and the search for the
cry of fire quickly brought the hose COM
pany to the scene. The straw stacks
north of the mill were blazing merrily
and sending up great clouds of white
smoke, and the prospect for a conhagra-
ton were excellent for n time.
The mangled body of Engineer John
Nelson was soon found and tcnderly re-
moved by friends, while poor, scalded and
bruised James Parrish, was taken to his
home and surgical aid summoned. Smith
Horner, who landed in the river, WAS also
assisted home, and then the list of victims
was thought to be complete. In half
hour, however, word came from Parrish
that Thomas Nelson had been in the boiler
room, and the search was at once renewed
by willing hands. In short time. a tuft
of clothing was discovered among the
debris, and the bricks being hastily cleared
away, the battered form Of the young man
was exposed. His body was not mangied,
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